Please enjoy!
Raye
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starlit Reflections: Dark Quarter
by Raye Johnsen
raye_j@yahoo.com
*****
Fushigi Yuugi is copyright Watase Yuu, Flower Comics,
Studio Perriot, Pioneer Entertainment, Viz
Communications and other interested parties. The
characters and situation are used without permission
for personal entertainment only, and no copyright
infringements are intended. No profit is being made
from this fic; if there was, Tasuki and Tamahome would
lighten me of it, as soon as they could.
*****
Chapter One: In The Great Khan's Shadow - Uruki
When I was born, my nurse told me in my childhood,
the doctor looked at me and declared, "This girl will
live in interesting times."
My mother cried aloud, "Oh sir, say that will not be
so!"
The doctor turned then to my mother and said, "Then
speak, not to I, but to your daughter. She will make
them so."
*****
To understand my actions, I believe it best if I
share a little of the history of our people.
Hokkan is a country of wild, beautiful mountains and
wide, glorious valleys. Ours is not a nation of
farmers; only in the south and the east is there land
that can be tilled. The rest of our land is beautiful
pasture for the cattle, sheep and buffalo our people
have herded for generations, with slopes to strengthen
the legs and sharpen the grace of the horses that are
the pride of our armies.
We do not have the oppressive, unrelieved heat of
Konan, where it only snows rarely, nor the sweeping
rains that flood Koutou every spring, nor the typhoons
that sweep the eastern coasts of Sairou. Our mountain
peaks are never without snow, and our valleys are lush
and green.
I am not the least bemused by the avarice of the
Emperor of the West. Our Hokkan is truly a jewel
among nations, so the attempts of the Koutou Emperor
to invade and conquer it is in no wise a shock to
myself or any true child of my land.
If all that the Koutou Emperor desired was land, it
might well be that we would have simply withdrawn
before him. But what the western Emperor wanted was
nothing less than our greatest treasures; our horses.
Alone of all the peoples of the Four Gods, we have
bred up herds of horses, enough to mount our people.
We are herdsmen, after all, and we must be able to
follow our herds.
And so the Koutou Emperor sat upon our western flank,
making curvetting raids into our territory, in a vain
attempt to steal our herds without committing too much
of his people to a war, just yet.
Still, it must be remembered that the God of Koutou
was Seiryuu, the God of War; and the weight of the
army arrayed against us was growing greater and
greater, every day. The Great Khan was considering
several courses of action placed before him, and he
was no believer in the prophecy of deliverance by the
hand of the Priestess of Genbu, though he did burn
incense at the Shrine of the Snake-Turtle. Though he
was no believer, he was aware that many within the
nation were, and he could not afford to lose their
trust.
This anticipated invasion was the sole topic of
conversation in the court of the Great Khan for
several months before the cool, early-winter day, on
which I begin my story.
*******
My name is Mei Ling, a not uncommon name among the
people of Hokkan. That it is mine is a thing most
unusual. For without boasting I may say that I was
not a common child. My mother was a concubine of the
Great Khan, and I was born to her after she was lifted
from among his wife's ladies and into his harem.
Ironically, after he had done so and my mother was
his, he lost interest in her, returning to his wife
and his more favoured concubines. My mother never
forgave him that, and spent her time involving herself
in the harem's intrigues. To my mind, that was a
better occupation than any other, which might have
spared her attention enough to notice me. The Great
Khan did not notice me at all.
The only person who saw me as more than yet another
of the Great Khan's offspring was my nurse, Chiu Yuen,
who loved me dearly, and whom I took shameless
advantage of, as children do. I loved her very much,
but that didn't stop me disobeying her at almost every
opportunity.
As a daughter of the Great Khan, I had been educated
beyond the rote recitation of the sagas that the
common child learnt - I could read and write, and had
been shown copies of poetry and stories. Of course, I
was not educated nearly as well as my brothers were.
Among my people, too much learning in a woman was a
sign of immorality.
Which will explain why I was in the Temple of Genbu
that day.
Nobody knew what I was or what I could do. The Great
Khan did not believe in the legend of the Priestess of
Genbu, my mother did not notice, I trusted neither my
half-siblings nor the court eunuchs and it was too
much fun to use my abilities to hide under poor Chiu
Yuen's nose.
I was a very sly and secretive child. I liked
keeping secrets and hiding away from others. My
Shichiseishi talent assisted me tremendously and I
exploited it.
If the Priests had known I was there they would have
had an absolute *fit*. As it was, when I sneaked into
the Temple of Genbu to read the copy of The Four Gods
Sky And Earth that Taiitsukun had given to the
Priests, I drew the shadows down around me, hiding me
from view.
I always enjoyed reading the scroll. It made me feel
important, as if I wasn't a disregarded daughter, who
didn't even have the title of 'Lady'. Genbu
Shichiseishi Uruki didn't *need* a title - the honour
of being herself was more than enough.
I was settling down into the descriptions of the
Shichiseishi when I felt the burning on my ankle. I
glanced down, and sure enough, there it was: the jie
glowing blackly against my fair skin. The symbol
'nu', Woman, shone dark into the darkness of the
Temple.
I've always felt like Genbuseikun was having a
wonderful laugh when He chose me, with that symbol.
Most times, I share the joke.
"Hello," a soft voice called at the door. I didn't
uncloak myself as I turned to look.
A girl stood there. She was wearing the oddest
clothes - a dress, much thinner than the padded
overtunic, overskirt and trousers that I and every
other Hokkan maiden wore. Her garment was a thin,
summery wrapped jacket and wrapped skirt that
overlapped and were bound by a contrasting length of
cloth that stretched from her breasts (and I could
*see* the curve of her bosom under her garment - her
maid should be severely reprimanded!) to her hips,
which was itself bound with a cord. She was very
pretty - her hair was long, the colour of a raven's
wing, and her skin was pale, even for a person of
Hokkan. Her eyes were too wide for true beauty, but
there was something both cool and welcoming about her.
She stepped into the sanctuary - a place that was
only comfortable for Genbu's servants, such as myself.
Even the Great Khan was unsettled there and sought to
leave almost as soon as he entered.
She moved within the sanctuary quietly and easily.
"Please," she said softly. "I know you're there.
Please come out. I won't tell, I promise." Her voice
wavered, and so I slowly released my cloak of shadows.
Her eyes widened. "How did you do that?"
I smiled and shrugged, as I knew her for who she
really was.
"My name is Uruki," I told her.
"I am Okuda Takiko," she replied.
And that clinched it. Only one person would wear
foreign garments, have a foreign name, make my
Shichiseishi symbol glow, detect me in my shadow
cloak, arrive right at *this* time in our history
*and* be comfortable in Genbu's sanctuary.
I knelt down before her and performed the obeisance
to the Great Khan to her. She seemed shocked as I
rose up from bowing so deeply that my forehead touched
the flagstones of the Temple.
"Please don't be shocked," I said quietly. "Please
let me explain. I've been waiting such a long time
for you, my Lady...."
*****
She accepted the explanation I gave her quietly, and
frowned thoughtfully.
"I know it sounds fantastic -" I started, only to
have her impatiently wave a hand at me.
"I believe you," she replied calmly. "*He* appeared
to me as I fell into this world. So I believe you."
She nodded at the statue of Genbu. "The thing is that
I have to find seven people - six, actually - with
special powers, and I shall tell them by the fact that
they have a mark somewhere on their bodies." She
sighed. "It isn't the sort of thing one can simply go
up and ask!"
"They will know you, my Lady," I said positively.
"*I* did."
Lady Takiko sighed. "Very well," she replied. "I'll
take your word on it. But, what will the King here
say -"
"He shall say nothing," I interjected quickly,
"because he shall know nothing. Believe me, please,
Lady Takiko - if you speak to the Great Khan, he will
not believe you, at best, and assume you are a girl
attempting to curry royal favour, at worst. Either
way, your quest shall end here, in the court of Tolan.
Come away with me, and we'll search for the other six
Shichiseishi together."
Lady Takiko looked at me. "But it's obvious that the
legend you've told me about is true. I'm here, and
you're here - it's not a question of belief."
I thought hard. How to convince her? "It's not just
a question of belief, Lady Takiko," I said seriously.
"You're a very lovely girl. The Great Khan doesn't
pay the respect to Genbu that he should, so I don't
think he'd respect the person of Genbu's Priestess
either."
Lady Takiko's eyes flickered, as if remembering
something from her own past. "All right," she said
slowly. "And, Miss Uruki, please just call me
'Takiko'."
"As you wish, Takiko, if you'll just call me
'Uruki'."
*****
I cloaked us both in my shadows - it was a good thing
I'd practiced so much - and led us both back to my
chambers.
"Why did we come here?" Takiko asked me.
"Because we are about the same size, and if you have
nothing to wear but that silky dress, you will die of
the cold!"
"I'm glad I came by in time."
Both of us turned around. "Chiu Yuen!" I gasped.
Chiu Yuen gave us both a sad smile. "I don't blame
you, Little Miss," she said, pulling out a half-packed
bag and beginning to fill it up. "And the Priestess
of Genbu too.... I'm very glad I have the chance to
meet Your Grace," she said to Takiko.
"You - you knew?" I asked, stupidly. Obviously she
knew.
"Whenever you were upset or sick when you were a
baby, your symbol would shine, Little Miss," she said
heavily. "And often, when I sent you off for lessons
you did not like, I would see you duck into a shadow,
and the shadow grow darker and you disappear. And I
worship Genbu, not the foreigner's Buddha. I've
always known, my Little Miss."
Spontaneously, I embraced her. "I'll miss you, Chiu
Yuen," I told her, blinking away tears that I hadn't
known I was shedding.
"Go well, Little Miss... but can you tell me
something, please?"
"Anything," I promised. I saw Lady Takiko smiling
wistfully from the corner of my eye, as if she were
wishing for something similar for herself.
"Tell me, please... which Shichiseishi are you?"
I giggled. "Uruki. I'm Uruki."
Chiu Yuen looked thoughtful. "Lady Uruki... no,
Little Miss, it doesn't suit you at all. I'll have to
keep calling you Little Miss."
I hugged her again, because there were no words to
say.
*****
I had never been out of the Imperial Court before in
my life.
Takiko took it much better than I did. Where I was
coughing and wheezing from the dust and stained and
dirty from where I had not dodged a cart rumbling past
through a puddle, she seemed to glide over the
effluvium of the streets. I was almost jealous.
Before we had stepped out, though, Takiko had said to
me, "I was born and raised in a city like this, Uruki.
I know how to move in it; so don't worry about me."
So I comforted myself with the thought that if *I*
had been a child of the city, I too would have glided
over the dirt and known when to step to avoid a
splashing. I still, however, felt very sorry for
myself as I dragged myself along in my Priestess'
wake.
I was so busy feeling sorry for myself that I didn't
notice Takiko stop and turn away from the path we had
planned on as we left the Palace. I almost bumped
into her as she stood stock-still on the roadway.
"*This* way," she said briefly, turning onto a side
street.
I was too out-of-breath to do anything but follow
her.
*****
Author's Notes:
1. Watase-sensei has never shown us enough of Hokkan
for us to determine exactly what its basis in the real
world is, so for the purposes of this story I have
assumed that the Ming dynasty never fell and the
Mongol/Manchurian Xing dynasty never took power,
remaining in the northern fourth of China beyond the
Great Wall, just north of Beijing.
In our world, the Mongols invaded China, but a
revolution led by the first Ming Emperor threw them
out. However, two hundred and forty years later, the
northerners returned, and remained in power for the
next two hundred and sixty-five years, until the
revolution of 1911.
My research for this chapter took a different form to
what my usual researches do. Documentation of the
original form of the Mongol court is scanty at best;
the most authoriative account is that of Marco Polo
(which is known to be highly romanticised). The
social aspects of the court of Imperial China in the
first decade of the twentieth century are better
known, mainly due to the autobiographies of Princess
Der Ling (First Lady-In-Waiting to the Dowager Empress
Ci Xi [who ruled China in fact if not in name from
1862 till her death in 1908] between 1903 and 1905),
but one cannot assume that the customs of the Manchu
remained unchanged by their long dominance of China.
Consequently there are portions of this chapter where
historical fact is not referred to and I have instead
made informed guesses about customs and practices.
2. Chinese notions of beauty have changed greatly in
modern times.
In the China of the Xing dynasty, thin eyes were
considered very pretty, while both sexes wore their
hair long, women in chignons under elaborate
headdresses while men and children of both sexes wore
theirs tied in a braid with red fastenings. A modest
woman never let any portion of her skin below her neck
show in public, not even her hands (except when she
was using them), and her robe would have many layers
and padding to prevent any hint of her figure being
seen. To display more than a hint of a figure was
immodest; in fact, displaying that hint was actually
rather fast!
This explains why Nuriko was able to get away with a
boyish figure in the seraglio. Nobody would have been
asking "Why doesn't Chou Kourin have any bosom?", they
would all have been asking "How does her maid *do* it,
and how much will my maid have to bribe the girl with
to teach her how to do it to *me*?"
3. I've taken the liberty of deciding that Okuda
Einosuke and his daughter Takiko lived in Kyoto.
Kyoto in 1923 (which is when Takiko was taken by the
Book) was still a very traditional city, much more so
than Tokyo, while still being at the forefront of the
Arts. It is also possessed of a high proportion of
temples and shrines, which gives the city a strong
sense of religion.
As the Mongols and the Manchurians both had a very
strong sense of the religious, for their Priestess to
be raised in a similar environment is appropriate.
=====
raye_j@yahoo.com
http://www.thejohnsens.com/index.html
"'I run, therefore I am'; more accurately,
'I run, therefore with any luck I'll still *be*'."
- Rincewind's philosophy, as explained in "Interesting Times"
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